Postcards

Driving down the mountain
We pass a few maple trees
That are beginning to turn fall colors
When she says, "It's like living in a postcard"
And she's right, it is beautiful here
I don't need convincing
Around every turn in the road
There is one amazing view after another
The boulders and rocks in the stream
The water rushing around and over them
Making its descent down the mountain
The road twists and turns
Left, right, and then left again
And here we are at one of my favorite spots
The trees open up to an incredible view
Off in the distance, hazy blue mountains appear
But it's only for a moment and then they're gone

I never knew Vermont was a rural state
There are hundreds of dirt roads
So many more than there are paved ones
Which gives me the feeling
Of being in the country
With a charm and beauty all its own
A field of Queen Anne's Lace
Stands proudly behind
A rustic split rail fence
Maple trees line both sides of the road
Their branches forming a canopy over it
As the late afternoon sunlight
Streams through their leaves

I do love watching the scenery
Still, I wish I wasn't in this car
But out there instead with my camera
Making postcards of my own

8.24.04

CMT

Author's Notes

After our handfasting, Kodi had a gall bladder attack during the reception, and another the very next day, so we ended up in the emergency room. Over the next few days, the hospital scheduled her for a couple of tests and doctor appointments because they were going to remove her gall bladder, until Medicaid refused to pay for the surgery.

This poem was inspired by a conversation between my new sister-in-law, Kodi, and myself, as she was taking us to one of those doctor appointments. Ever since my sister-in-law and her family moved to Vermont, she's been trying to talk us into moving up there. Which I'm sure will eventually happen, but just not anytime soon.

Anyway, I was feeling a bit frustrated at not being able to spend our honeymoon the way Kodi and I had planned, which was to be out in the scenery, rather than watching it pass by the car window. Kodi and I did manage one afternoon to drive around and take a few pictures, but not as much as I would have liked. Then we left a few days earlier than we had planned on, so that Kodi could see her doctor to get all the paperwork faxed down here.

Since Kodi and I were cheated out of having the honeymoon we wanted, we have promised each other a proper one some day.